The upbeat and catchy "Racing in A" is from Steve Hackett's Please Don't Touch album from 1978.

It was the first solo album he recorded after leaving Genesis and his first album to feature his pioneering work with the Roland GR-500 guitar synth.

"Racing in A" is a five-minute-long progressive-rock masterpiece that glides along for more than a minute with its almost-Yes-like rhythm before the vocals kick in (But Hackett keeps the spotlight squarely on the GR-500).

As is the case with several other selections on this list, be sure to check out the entire Please Don't Touch album for more examples of Hackett's guitar synth work.

By the way, that's Hackett's photo at the top of this page (and all the pages in this story).

NOTE: We've included a cool live performance of "Racing in A," plus (for the purists), the studio version.

Comments

Synths work well on Maiden's 'Somewhere in Time' album, and add a new dimension to the bands sound. Although not to everyone's liking, many songs can benefit form having synth if used carefully and effectively.

Here's a real funny story. An interviewer with a guitar mag asked the guitarist for Ministry about guitar synths. He said "Oh those things are for pussies, but of course we use them all the time" Lmao. Too each their own. I personally could live without them, they are fun to play with and if it inspires you to play. I say what the heck.

My own opinion but to be honest guitar synth just doesn't work for most of these songs. Hate the sound of it. But, of the songs listed here, the two songs it really works on is the Police and Iron Maiden.